Coupon display and clip therefor

ABSTRACT

A display assembly of a stack of paper coupons or the like including a clip retaining the coupons in assembled relation but disconnected one from another while permitting ready removal of individual coupons from the top of the stack and eliminating the need for adhesively binding or otherwise securing the coupons in stacked form.

United States Patent [1 1 Berger COUPON DISPLAY AND CLIP THEREFOR [76] Inventor: Sol J. Berger, 310 Melvin Dr.,

Northbrook, Ill. 60062 [22] Filed: Mar. 4, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 447,731

[52] US. Cl. 40/11 [51] Int. Cl. G09f 3/18 [58] Field of Search 248/301, 307; 211/57;

402/470, 471; 40/l9.5, ll, 12

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,829,454 4/1958 Mosiman 40/12 2,951,301 9/1960 Slavsky 40/17 3,297,290 1/1967 Patterson 248/307 51 Aug. 19, 1975 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 263,051 7/1968 Austria 40/l9.5

Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell Assistant Examiner-Wenceslao .I. Contreras Attorney, Agent, or F irm-Morris Spector [5 7] ABSTRACT A display assembly of a stack of paper coupons or the like including a clip retaining the coupons in assembled relation but disconnected one from another while permitting ready removal of individual coupons from the top of the stack and eliminating the need for adhesively binding or otherwise securing the coupons in stacked form.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures COUPON DISPLAY AND cup THEREFOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Heretofore, coupons of the type to be given away or distributed free in stores, particularly of the so-called supermarket type, or elsewhere, have been assembled in pads comprised of a plurality of these coupons secured together in such assembled relation by means of a cemented fastening holding the coupons along one edge and from which the individual coupons were torn as they were removed from the pad by individual users. This type of coupon pad and method of fastening was difficult to use, particularly if a shopper was carrying one or more packages or pushing a shopping cart. Such coupon pads required the use of two hands in the process of removing a coupon for use. One hand was necessary to hold the pad while the other hand was used to tear the coupon from the cemented fastening. In addition, the coupons and cemented type fastening was expensive to manufacture and required special handling for distribution in the form of some support or mounting means, or, if the pad of coupons was allowed to lay around on a display counter or the like, there was the likelihood that the pad may be knocked off of the counter or lost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Contrasted with the cemented pad of coupons of the prior art, the present invention provides a loosely stacked assembly of coupons that may easily be removed from the stack.

The coupons are separate from each other and may be removed from the stack one by one by the use of one hand in taking each one of the individual coupons successively from the top of the stack. The coupons are mounted in disconnected relationship on a clip that is adapted to hold the assembly of coupons together conveniently for examination and removed by interested persons. The clip exerts a spring action to hold the coupons while permitting their easy removal without the necessity for exerting a tearing action and obviates the need for any binding or otherwise securing the individual coupons on the stack. The clip also includes means for mounting a more or less standard type of bracket such as on the edge of a shelf or the like, and is designed to display the coupons for ready perusal.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The primary purpose of this invention is to provide a means of assembly for a stack of identical paper coupons or the like, which is economical to produce and which readily permits removal of the coupons, one by one, from the top of the stack without disturbing any of the remaining coupons and without the need for binding or otherwise securing the individual coupons in the stack.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a stack of coupons assembled on a flexible clip which holds the individual coupons together in disconnected relation and comprises the sole means of securing the assembled coupons in stacked relationship.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a stack of like coupons on a paper clip which retains the coupons in assembled relationship but which readily permits removal of individual coupons from the stack without disturbing any other coupon.

An important object of the invention is to provide a display assembly of a stack of coupons on a supporting clip having spaced outstanding flexible prongs engaged into similarly spaced perforations in the individual coupons and having means for mounting the assembly on a support A still further object of the invention is to provide a stack of separate and individual paper coupons on a paper clip that retains the coupons in assembled relation but permits ready removal of successive coupons from the top of the stack and supports a display card or the like at the bottom of such stack in a position to extend beyond the assembled stack of coupons.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other and more specific objects of the invention are attained by the coupon and clip arrangement illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a general perspective view of a stack of coupons assembled on a clip with a display card and mounted in a typical support;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view through a typical support with the stack of coupons and mounting clip shown in side elevation;

FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of FIG. 2 showing the stack of paper coupons mounted on the spring action retaining clip;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective showing the support, the mounting clip, a display card and the stack of paper coupons; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are front and rear views, respectively, of a modified construction.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawings 10 represents a stack of identical paper coupons assembled on a clip 11 with a placaid or advertising display card 12 also assembled on the clip behind the stack of coupons. The stack of coupons and display card mounted on the clip are adapted to be supported in a typical means for public display such as the usual shelf edging 13 formed quite generally in supermarkets, or other stores, and shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 as having inwardly directed oppositely disposed flanges 14 forming a channel section into which the clip 11 is adapted to be snapped. The edging 13 may be attached to the edge of a shelf 15 as by screws 16 (see FIG. 2) and is utilized here as indicating a convenient supporting means for readily mounting the stack of coupons of the invention in a conspicuous place for public distribution. This is the usual lengthwise extending shelf edging that receives price tabs for indicating the prices of the articles on the shelves.

The clip 11 has, as an integral part thereof, coupon .receiving outstanding retainer prongs 19 and 20 each having an overlying lip or shoulder 21 formed by a head 22 adjacent to its free end. Each head has a smoothly rounded end for facilitating slipping the stack of coupons 10 onto the prongs initially.

The stack 10 comprises identical printed paper coupons each of which has two mounting perforations 23 spaced apart to receive the prongs l9 and 20. When the stack 10 is being slipped onto the prongs, the prongs are deflected or sprung inwardly by the coupons. When the last coupon of the stack passes the head 22 the prongs spring back (outwardly) under their own resiliency, and the lips 21 engage the foremost coupon and thus retain the stack on the prongs.

The prongs l9 and are disclosed as having a spring action outwardly in opposite directions with the overlying shoulders also disposed outwardly, but the same retaining action might be obtained by disposing the overlying shoulders inwardly. i

The perforations 23 are adjacent to the top edge of each coupon 17 so that when the stack of coupons 10 is mounted on the outstanding prongs 19 and 20 of the clip 11, the coupons will be disposed in a depending position. This enables the placard 12 to be displayed above the stack of coupons and for this purpose the placard is provided with a pair of perforations 24 which are also spaced apart similarly to the spacing of the prongs 19 and 20, but these perforations are located adjacent to the lower edge of the placard 12 so that when the placard is installed on the outstanding prongs behind the stack of coupons 10 it will extend upwardly to display any information contained thereon above the level of the top edge of the stack of coupons.

The mounting clip 11 may be made from a moldable thermoplastic material such as one selected from the group including polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene and is formed for easy insertion in a support such as the edging members 13 disclosed herein. The clip is of integral construction as to all of its elements and of course includes the outstanding prongs 19 and 20 which is integral with the base structure 25. The base structure is designed and constructed specifically for easy insertion of the clip 1 1 into a support such as the edging 13 having oppositely disposed channel forming flanges 14 providing opposed mounting channels. The base structure is provided with an upper middle back member 26 having a top beveled edge 27 which, as best shown in FIG. 2, fits into upper channel 14 of the supporting member 13. Upper back portions 28 extend in opposite directions from the middle back portion 26, and it is from these portions of the clip base structure that the integral prongs 19 and 20 project outwardly from to support the coupon stack 10. The prongs are located at the opposite extremities of the back portions 28 to provide widely based supports for the depending coupons.

As best illustrated in FIG. 4, the clip 11 has a pair of spaced apart bottom back members 29 each having a bottom beveled edge 30 which, as indicated in FIG. 2, fits into the bottom channel 14 of the edging member 13 in a manner similarly to the upper middle back member 26 in the upper channel 14 of the edging, but in an oppositely disposed relationship so that the clip, thus inserted, exerts an expansive force in the opposite channels 14 to retain the clip therein. The bottom back members 29 are integral with the top back members 26 by diagonally disposed connecting members 31 which extend upwardly from the respectively inner ends of the bottom members 29 to the respectively outer ends of the upper back portions 28 immediately adjacent to the corner areas where the prongs l9 and 20 also integrate with these upper back members. The clip 11 is sufficiently flexible to permit easy manual bowing or flexing of the connecting members 29 to temporarily reduce the distance between the upper member 26 and the bottom members 2929 to permit the insertion of the clip between the flanges 14-14 by a frontal movement towards the front surface 13' of the shelf edging 13. Thereafter, upon releasing clip, the member 26 and the members 2929 spring apart, under their natural resiliency into engagement with the inner sides of the upper and lower flanges l4l4. The clip 11 may be removed from the shelf edging 13 by a reverse action, the bevels 27 and 3030 facilitating such action.

It is contemplated also that a single bottom edge member might be utilized without departure from the inventive concept and in which event a single diagonal member extending upwardly from one end area of the bottom member would connect and integrate the bottom member with the upper back member.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an embodiment wherein the clip may be mounted directly on a Wall. The parts that are analgous to those of the previous embodiment, but are structurally somewhat different, are designated by the same reference numerals, but primed.

A clip 1 1 comprises a rectangular or square base 25 having a flat front surface and a flat rear surface, and forwardly extending flexible retainer prongs 1920. The top and bottom surfaces may have beveled edges 2730'. When this clip is to be used with edging 13, it is, as before, made of material that is sufficiently flexible to permit manual bowing for insertion of the clip between the flanges 14-14 of the shelf edging and then released, as before, to be retained in position on shelf edging. The clip 11' may, however, be mounted directly on a wall. The back surface is coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive 40 that is overlaid by a protecting sheet 41 of suitable coated paper that permits easy pealing of the sheet 41 from the adhesive so that the clip 11' may be adhered to a wall by the pressure sensitive adhesive 40 on the back of the clip.

The clip 11' of FIGS. 5 and 6 carries the stack of identical paper coupons 10 and, if desired, a display card such as 12, as previously described.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a coupon stack has been provided which is retained in loosely assembled relation for removal one by one from the top of the stack with the stack comprised of a plurality of separate but identical paper coupons retained by spring action on a paper clip adapted to support the stack for display in a typical mounting bracket.

What is claimed is:

l. A display assembly of a stack of coupons on a supporting clip for mounting substantially vertically by insertion into a supporting edging having upper and lower flanges, said assembly comprising a plastic clip which is a one piece molded article, said clip having means for securing it to supporting edging by a spring action and to that effect said clip having a base the back surface of which terminates in a top edge and a bottom edge, said edges being parallel to one another and located at the topmost and the bottommost portions of the clip respectively when the base is in a vertical position, and said base being sufficiently flexible to permit flexing of the base to reduce the distance between the topmost edge and the bottommost edge of the base for insertion of the base of the clip between the flanges of a supporting edging by a frontal movement and upon a release of the flexing force said base of the clip snaps back under the natural resiliency of the material of said base to snap the top and bottom edges of the base into position between the flanges of the edging for releasably holding the clip on the edging; said base having prong means integral therewith and projecting forwardly from the base, a stack of disconnected superimposed substantially identical coupons having aligned perforations therethrough on said prong means with the prong means extending through the aligned perforations.

2. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said prongs has a head portion, each said head portion having an undercut shoulder extending in respectively opposite directions to overlie said coupons when said perforations are engaged over the prongs.

3. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 2 wherein at least one of said prongs is deflected in a direction opposite to the direction of said undercut shoulder when the perforations of the coupons are engaged over the prongs and springs back to a position where the undercut shoulders both overlie the coupons.

4. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 1 wherein a card containing information is mounted on said prongs behind the stack of coupons, said card having a pair of perforations spaced similarly to the spaced perforations in the coupons and located on the card whereby the card when mounted on the prongs extends above the top edge of the coupons to expose the information contained thereon.

5. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for removably securing said clip to a support includes upper and lower beveled edge members for insertion into an oppositely grooved mounting member, and a flexible connecting member extending between said beveled edge members.

6. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 5 wherein said flexible connecting member extends at an angle from adjacent one end of the top beveled edge member to the oppositely disposed end of the bottom beveled edge member.

7. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for removably securing said clip to a support includes an upper member having a top beveled edge member.

8. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for removably securing said clip to a support includes an upper member having a top beveled edge, said prongs projecting outwardly from the face of said upper member, a pair of bottom members each having a beveled bottom edge, said top and bottom beveled edge members being adapted to be inserted into a mounting member having top and bottom grooves in opposed relation, and a flex ible connecting member extending between each bottom edge member and said top edge member.

9. A display assembly of claim 1 wherein the prong means comprises a pair of prongs extending forwardly from the front of the base, and each of said coupons has two perforations therethrough, one for each prong.

10. The combination of claim 1 with a shelf edging having upper and lower channel flanges, the base of said clip being located on the shelf edging with the top and bottom of said base being in said upper and lower flanges of said edging. 

1. A display assembly of a stack of coupons on a supporting clip for mounting substantially vertically by insertion into a supporting edging having upper and lower flanges, said assembly comprising a plastic clip which is a one piece molded article, said clip having means for securing it to supporting edging by a spring action and to that effect said clip having a base the back surface of which terminates in a top edge and a bottom edge, said edges being parallel to one another and located at the topmost and the bottommost portions of the clip respectively when the base is in a vertical position, and said base being sufficiently flexible to permit flexing of the base to reduce the distance between the topmost edge and the bottommost edge of the base for insertion of the base of the clip between the flanges of a supporting edging by a frontal movement and upon a release of the flexing force said base of the clip snaps back under the natural resiliency of the material of said base to snap the top and bottom edges of the base into position between the flanges of the edging for releasably holding the clip on the edging; said base having prong means integral therewith and projecting forwardly from the base, a stack of disconnected superimposed substantially identical coupons having aligned perforations therethrough on said prong means with the prong means extending through the aligned perforations.
 2. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said prongs has a head portion, each said head portion having an undercut shoulder extending in respectively opposite directions to overlie said coupons when said perforations are engaged over the prongs.
 3. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 2 wherein at least one of said prongs is deflected in a direction opposite to the direction of said undercut shoulder when the perforations of the coupons are engaged over the prongs and springs back to a position where the undercut shoulders both overlie the coupons.
 4. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 1 wherein a card containing information is mounted on said prongs behind the stack of coupons, said card having a pair of perforations spaced similarly to the spaced perforations in the coupons and located on the card whereby the card when mounted on the prongs extends above the top edge of the coupons to expose the information contained thereon.
 5. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for removably securing said clip to a support includes upper and lower beveled edge members for insertion into an oppositely grooved mounting member, and a flexible connecting member extending between said beveled edge members.
 6. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 5 wherein said flexible connecting member extends at an angle from adjacent one end of the top beveled edge member to the oppositely disposed end of the bottom beveled edge member.
 7. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for removably securing said clip to a support includes an upper member having a top beveled edge member.
 8. A display assembly of a stack of coupons as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for removably securing said clip to a support includes an upper member having a top beveled edge, said prongs projecting outwardly from the face of said upper member, a pair of bottom members each having a beveled bottom edge, said top and bottom beveled edge members being adapted to be inserted into a mounting member having top and bottom grooves in opposed relation, and a flexible connecting member extending between each bottom edge member and said top edge member.
 9. A display assembly of claim 1 wherein the prong means comprises a pair of prongs extending forwardly from the front of the base, and each of said coupons has two perforations therethrough, one for each prong.
 10. The combination of claim 1 with a shelf edging having upper and lower channel flanges, the base of said clip being located on the shelf edging with the top and bottom of said base being in said upper and lower flanges of said edging. 